GamePlay Blog – Week 5

Weds. Oct. 4, 2017

Analysis:
Did I play because I wanted to or because I felt I had to?
Both

How did I decide what game to play?
Vice City is still currently the only game I want to play

How do I feel about the game?
Before: It’s been a few days since I last played, and each day since I’ve considered playing at least once or twice. I’ve made some pretty good progress since I started my gameplay blog, and I’m keen to keep moving through the story, making money and completing side missions. This is the first day in a while though that I’ve played not just because I wanted to, but because I also felt I needed to for this blog entry.

Did anything unexpected or noteworthy happen?
The game froze

Why did I stop playing?
A combination of other stuff to do, the game freezing and a little bit of frustration.

How much on a scale of 1-10 did I enjoy this gaming experience?
4

Thurs. Oct. 5, 2017

Stats:
What game did I play?
GTA: Vice City

How Long did I play & what time of day?
8:05 pm – 9:11 pm

Where did I play?
Home

Did I play with anyone else?
No

Analysis:
Did I play because I wanted to or because I felt I had to?
Mostly that I wanted to, also wasn’t sure I’d get the chance again before the end of the week.

How did I decide what game to play?
I’m only about half way through the story and still feel like finishing.

How do I feel about the game? (before & after)
Before: My last session ended unexpectedly and was overall the least enjoyable experience yet. It was the shortest so far at around 40 minutes, mostly spent trying a number of times to finish one mission. That’s on my mind going into this session, so I’m just hoping things go according to plan and the game doesn’t freeze on me.

After: After another relatively short session at just over an hour, it was good, but I’m glad to be finished. Everything went well and I enjoyed myself, but the novelty of replaying this old standby is beginning to wear off a bit.

Did anything unexpected or noteworthy happen?
No

Why did I stop playing?
I’m getting distracted by other things and feel a little tired and ready to move on.

How much on a scale of 1-10 did I enjoy this gaming experience?
6.5

Sat. Oct. 7, 2017

Stats:
What game did I play?
GTA: Vice City

How Long did I play & what time of day?
11:16 am – 12:55 am

Where did I play?
Home

Did I play with anyone else?
No

Analysis:
Did I play because I wanted to or because I felt I had to?
Mostly because I had to

How did I decide what game to play?
It’s still my go-to game right now, but I did consider playing something else for the first time since starting Vice City.

How do I feel about the game? (before & after)
Before: This week is the first time I can sense I’m beginning to get bored of the game. I’m still looking forward to playing it, but I don’t have the same desire to beat it as I did when I was first getting back into it. Also there’s been a few times lately I’ve found myself thinking about other games, but not Vice City.

After: It was a good session, plenty of progress made. I can tell I’m getting closer to the conclusion of the storyline and finishing the side missions. Playing today takes me back to when I first played the game and could spend hours exploring the map and hunting for things to do, whereas now I’m more interested in efficiency and doing tasks in the best order. I definitely feel though that fairly soon I’ll switch games and put Vice City back into retirement. I’ll likely play GTA 4 and compare the two, maybe StarCraft or an old N64 game.

Did anything unexpected or noteworthy happen?
No

Why did I stop playing?
I was getting tired of playing, and have other things to do.

How much on a scale of 1-10 did I enjoy this gaming experience?
8

Review

Time Played This Week: 3 hours, 22 minutes

This week was a contrast to last week, for a few reasons. First, I played for almost twice the time last week — this week I spent the least amount of time gaming since starting the blog. Also, Last week each time I played it was more because I wanted to than because I had to, but this week each session was at least partly because I needed it for an entry.
Twice this week my game sessions took place in the am, which is a first since starting the blog. Usually I play in the evening — last week all my sessions were between 4:30 pm and 12:00 am. Generally when I play later in the day it’s because I want to, and earlier because I feel I have to. This suggests that the majority of my sessions this week I played because I had to, so I could probably argue that this week it was more work than fun. After all, one of the less disputed aspects of what makes play play, is that it’s of the players free will. Once a person is forced to play, it becomes work. I wonder — would I eventually cease to see Vice City as fun if I kept using it for this assignment? And how long would that feeling persist after the assignment ended?